I got some stuff that I ordered from BlehmCo this weekend. I have been working on my car pretty much non stop. I am setting up this car for auto-x in the STS class and I am pretty close to getting done with the suspension. Next is braking then on to horse power. Here is a few pictures of the parts.

Here is where my car is at right now:

STS 94 Nissan Maxima SE 5-spd

(Ebay)
Front Strut tower bar
Cold air intake

(blehmCo)
Ground Kit
Lower tie bar
Rear Strut tower bar
Rear sway bar links

(Energy Suspension)
suspension techniques sway bar's front and rear
Front control arm bushings

(Koni)
Koni red's front and rear

(Eibach)
Prokit

(Falken)
Azenis

(Ebc)
Green Stuff

Things I am allowed to and need to get:

brembo rotors
ss brake lines
full set of axis pads
Warpspeed full exhaust
ssr procomp


After installing this I noticed a little more grip in the rear. It could just be me but one thing for sure is the quality of this is amazing. Very sturdy and much better construction/quality than my ebay fstb.


It was a little hard to get it together because of the powder coat but it was nothing a rubber mallet can handle. After it was torqued down I pulled on it but it does not move, very solid.



I had to get the stage one lower tie bar because of STS rules. I am completely satisfied with this as well. The construction is just amazing. This one is not powder coated but Matt does do it for you if you want to wait, unless he has some in stock.


The only problem I ran into was the craftsman 27mm is too fat, but again it was nothing my rubber mallet can't handle. After a few whacks it went right over the bolt. The car felt a little tighter in the front after I went for a test drive.


I think this is the most worthwhile mod that I purchased from Matt. My stock bushings didn’t actually look too bad but I guess that does not mean that they are good. After installing these, the car felt so much nicer. The ride was better and best of all it feels so firm when I come to a stop. There is no play so it just jerks like it’s connected to the suspension. Sorry, The picture is not in focus but you can see the new bushing.

 

The ground kit is constructed well. It dresses the engine bay up nicely too. The main difference that I noticed is when I press on my brakes the clock and dash lights do not dim. It might just be me but I also notice when I am cruising at low rpm's it feels smoother.


You can see the crimping and shrink wrapping. The kit is very professional and I do not expect any less from Matt. I highly recommend all his products.


I have not installed these yet but they look ten times better than the stock ones.

Now for some stuff that I did not get from Matt:


I got a set of Azenis and after 100 miles I get this huge screw in the rear right tire. I got it fixed today and I hope it holds under auto-x conditions.


I did not cut any corners when it came to building this car so I went with Koni's. The quality is amazing; it just sucks that I can pretty much adjust them once before I put them on.

 

I really would rather get a ground control kit but the pro-kit is my next choice.

I am very happy with all the parts that I have installed especially with the stuff I got from blemco. It is so great to have somebody who is willing to spend the time and money on developing mods for an ageing car. I took the car out for a drive every time I put something on just in case you were wondering. Soon I will have the shocks and struts on and hopefully I will finish the car but the middle of the season.

 

Lookin' good!
You have the exact same car as I do with very similar mods. Very cool!

 

Cool, do you have the Classic Soft Trim seats too? What do you do about the new downshifting law out there? Last time I was there I saw those signs everywhere!

 

What downshifting law?

 

Wow, nice job. I am very jealous and very impressed.

Are you going to add subframe connectors? I would think those would be helpful in autocross.

After you do the suspension, I would highly recommend a Fidanza flywheel to go along with your warpspeed exhaust. After the y-pipe, it is one of the best mods I have done. You will have to ask Matt what clutch would work best with it for autocross. My car is set up more for the 1/4 mile right now and I have an ACT clutch.

keep up the good work.

chris

 

Great pics and details.

Tell me more about the LTB. How did the car drive before and afterwards? I was worried that installing would create more understeer and make it push some.

When I started STS I ran the Koni Yellow's with Eibach Pro's. Pretty good combo. There will be some body lean to deal with. Don't worry much about the adjustments - once you get em set just leave em there and focus on the driving part. Heck, I've invested $2400 in my coilovers now and they still don't have a **** to adjust

 

me like what I see!

 

Neat stuff, thanks for the nice pics and interesting post.

 

nice

 

I would say your car is shaping up very nice. It is always good to see a VE being well taken care of. I hope to meet up with you and get a closer look someday, we are not too far.

 

Nice. Unique to see a dude handle the suspension first before power mods. But with the VE, it makes sense.

 

wut aboot me?

 

there's a few of us out there doing that.. STS class doesn't allow too much for engine mods, but it allows quite a bit of suspension stuff. Thus the reason he's prepping the car that way.
I did basically the same thing, but now I'm in SM or SP classes now because of the subframes and rear suspension.. so I'm modding the engine as I see fit.

 

Very nice dude. suspension is going to be hot.

 

nice setup larry.your car is already fast so you dont need no power mods cuz ur car beat me haha.give me a call if you need help installing any of ur mods.

kevin

 

Dont tell him that, he will love that car even more with power mods, VEs take very well to mods...just ask Aaron92se.

 

A VE just isnt a VE without a Fidanza.

Like Chris was saying, the Y-pipe, UDP, and Fidanza will completely change your car

 

Ecu............

 

What are the classic soft trim seats? Pics?
What downshifting law?

 

What kind of power gains did you see when you upgraded your ecu?

 

Dunno. But the low end is incredible along with nice mid/high end gains.

 

I would love to get a JWT ECU. The only problem is the ECU cost more than I paid for my entire exhaust and fidanza combined, unless I find a cheap used one. No one seems to want to sell them cheap enough for my tastes.

 

screw JWT Ultra Mega-squirt

 

Srew the ign timing advance/retard features?????????

 

then you don't know what mega squirt can do

 

how about something feasible, and that will actually work on our cars.

IMHO megasquirt is not that great

 

Well then explain. I didn't see ign control on there. But I just skimmed it.

 

megasquirt = crap

go with the romulator setup or now the Zemulator. megasquirt runs a batch fire setup unless you wire in the extra injectors drivers (last i checked). that'd be a bit inneficient compared to even the stock sequential setup. tuning the stock ecu using the rom/Zemulator is almost as powerful as the expensive standalones. the only thing you really don't have is the ability to control things like a wastegate or something. even then, you can get stuff to do that anyways.

 

By the time you're doing that much to the ECU with the Zemulator, writing simple code to control a wastegate is nothing.. hour or two of writing code, assemble small circuit, install.

 

props to you man.

is this your everyday car or do you just autox it?

 

i didnt know that VE 5M are so dam quick! and i also been in larrys 3gen in canyon runs and i was very impressed in how well it handles!. new respect!!!

 

yeah...they are just as fast as 4th gen 5 speeds. DO NOT race him on the highway though, he will make you look baaaaaaad. I mean, reeeeaaaaal bad.

 

we already raced on the highway.we raced from 60mph,from 60-81 i get the lead but after that he starts 2 pull on me and pass me but he didnt make me look that bad lol.but with power mods he car is gonna be real quick.

 

60-80? thats no race...basically whoever hits it first gets it.

You need to go from 75-110.

 

hmmm, you went how fast on a public road?

please don't talk about street racing on the forum... we don't want to have to banninate you.

 

mega squirt is in at leasst 3 versions
it has completely customizable fuel maps
it's opensource so the available progeamming is constantly changing.
6 months ago the didn't have support for COP now they do.
it's constantly changing and upgrading, the limitations are only what you place on it yourself.

not too mention for $300 it's a lot more tuneable than a Burned JWT ECU. and you can program on the fly

 

Tarzan: When I was in New Mexico last I saw signs next the speed limit signs that says "downshifting is prohibited” am not joking.

Red92MaxSE: I wish I could go with all the mods you suggested but they will take me out of class. The only other things I can do is:

Relocate battery
get racing seats that are more than 15lbs each
get ECU
wheels, no wider than 7.5
tires no wider than 225
full street legal exhaust

I think that’s really it.

BEJAY1: I have not been able to push it too much on the streets but From what I have felt it feels more solid. Also when I get my shocks and springs on I know it will help with everything.

domntzta: Thanks I want to see your two cars as well

Matt93SE: I will ship the core's out as soon as I get some free time. I did not go Street Modified because I am afraid to go against Z06's and 510's that get trailered over to the course. But then you also have the ricers in that class who just have a carbon fiber hood so then get bumped into the class or something.

Kevin: Ya come on over anytime!

505max94se: I will take a pic of the seats when I have a chance.

andy044: It used to be my daily but now my daily is a dodge caravan.

 

What are these?